1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to activities planning and advertising, and more particularly to weather-based activities planning and advertising.
2. Related Art
New technologies are rapidly transforming today's entertainment, communications, advertisement and media industries. We are in fact, witnessing a digital revolution. The Internet is changing the way the world communicates and interacts, the manner by which we relax and enjoy ourselves, the means by which we receive our education and the method by which we purchase our goods and services. It has become the contemporary jet stream.
The pace of technological progress is rapidly accelerating. In the early 1960's, computers were so large they filled entire rooms. Today, microchips smaller than a thumbnail are thousands of times faster than their predecessors. As technology continues to advance at this accelerated pace, the Internet promises to become a major form of media to reach the mass consumer and to attract advertiser support.
The Internet is a decentralized “network” of computers connected by phone lines, cables, satellites and other new technologies. These high-speed links carry a multitude of data, information, files, commands, instructions, discussions, sound and pictures. Less than 25 years old, the Internet began its existence as a governmental effort to protect sensitive files and information in the event of a major catastrophic accident such as war, by connecting U.S. government computers throughout the world and by providing a common language for them to speak. The government then made this network of computers available to universities to exchange data and information. In the early 1990's, it was made available to the public.
Today, the industry that encompasses the Internet is one of the world's fastest growing marketplaces. Its current rate of growth is approximately 50–70% per annum and expanding rapidly. Thousands of new sites are being added weekly. What was once the sole domain of government units and educational institutions is rapidly becoming the daily activity of millions of individual and corporate viewers, users and consumers. Interactive, computer-based services are revolutionizing the way the world enjoys entertainment, receives information, acquires merchandise and communicates with each other. New technologies are simultaneously making the use of the Internet more accessible, secure, productive and enjoyable.
According to Nielsen Media Research, approximately 79 million North Americans 16 years and older are Internet users as of June 1998. That number is forecasted to increase to 88 million users by year-end, resulting in almost 40% of North American population being on-line. This latest survey results indicate that more than 50% of the 16–34 age group (40 million people) are now on-line. In addition, 17% of the 50+age group (13 million people) are Internet users. See, Nielsen Media Research, CommerceNet and Jupiter Communications, 1997–1998, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. It is interesting to note that this demographic segment is growing at the same pace as the overall growth of new Internet users. This segment also accounts for one half of the overall population. By the year 2000, it is estimated that over 130 million consumers will be online. (See, Nielsen Media Research, supra.)
Advancements in technology have also made electronic marketing and purchasing via the Internet a major growth area of the economy. The online world, in fact, is one of America's fastest growing and expanding retail markets. Home shopping via television has already become a three billion-dollar industry; today, the Internet offers the same service, but with an additional advantage of instantaneous selection which offer online consumers the ability to select at will their choice of program and product.
The inventors of the present invention recognized that people today are time constrained, increasingly fragmented and at the mercy of the weather. In general, people need help to make the most out of the limited time they have and to improve the quality of their decision making. In fact, the affects of the weather impacts all aspects of human endeavor. Based on the forecasted weather, a person's planned special event (e.g., golfing, skiing, fishing, boating, vacations, family reunions, weddings, honeymoons, and the like) will be affected. For a special event more than a few days away, people must plan their special events in the “blind” without knowledge of future weather conditions. What is needed is a way of addressing these needs in the field of weather, by bringing weather reporting, forecasting, entertainment and advertising together in this fast emerging electronic world.